Leagan Gaeilge   Text Version   Display: Zoom (-) (+)   View ( Normal High contrast ) Printer Friendly  A to Z  Sitemap

Research Matters

Profile on Dr. Zoë Popper

 
 

Some of the most interesting research going on in NUI Galway is literally in your gardens and on your plate. Dr Zoë Popper, a lecturer in Botany and Plant Science in the School of Natural Sciences, NUI Galway has edited a book entitled The Plant Cell Wall: Methods and Protocols. This book focuses on methods of research currently used to analyse cell walls; an area of research which has importance for food, fuel and fibre as well as being of interest because it controls how plants grow and how they interact with the environment.

Plant cell wall research is highly relevant to agriculture (the cell wall controls plant growth and is a major target of many commercial herbicides), the textile- and paper-making industries (cotton and paper are largely composed of cellulose, the main cell wall component), and with regard to timber, food and fuel. For example the crunchiness of an apple is dependant on the properties of its cell walls. Additionally, the plant cell wall represents one of the main renewable sources of energy and is currently being investigated for exploitation for this purpose by many researchers worldwide. Furthermore, since the cell wall is the first line of defence for a plant’s interaction with the environment it has been modified during evolution e.g. to be less digestible to herbivores and pathogens.

What interested you in science in the first place?
I don’t really remember not being interested in science! However, my interest was certainly supported by excellent teachers and I very clearly remember a couple of classes at primary school; one in which we dissected a fish and another in which we drew crane flies. Outside school I belonged to a local nature club, including activities such as listening to the dawn chorus and bat watching, and helped (to some extent at least!) my parents in the garden.

Why did you become specifically interested in Botany?
Probably like many people I became interested in plants because of their structure and diversity — many are of course aesthetically pleasing. But, I also remember my brother and I growing plants in the kitchen (until they flowered) whose flowers emitted a really horrible smell. We also travelled a bit and so I came across durian fruits that also didn’t smell too great, many different sizes, shapes, colours and scents of orchids (infinite variation within a single family), bottle trees, parasol pines, and many others which while being different from the deciduous woodland and meadow plants at home also shared some characters making them e.g. recognisable as a fern, member of the daisy family etc. Naturally I wanted to know why such diversity existed and what its function was. This led me to an interest in plants at an ecological, cellular, and biochemical level (diversity at completely different scales!). I studied Plant Science at University and was extremely lucky in having many inspirational lecturers as well as the Botanics (The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh) within walking distance.

What do you find most enjoyable and rewarding about your work?
It is never boring! There are a vast range of activities that I am involved in terms of both research and teaching. For example I might have a class of school children learning how to extract DNA from bananas, be lecturing an undergraduate class, be in the field indentifying a plant with a PhD student, or in the lab using monoclonal antibodies to identify and localise specific sugars surrounding plant and algal cells.

Author: David O'Connor, Ryan Institute

 

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility